restaurant week

every time restaurant week comes around, s and i try to hit one or two places we haven't tried before with some fellow food lovers. we always have the internal debate about whether restaurant week is actually worth it or is even a good indicator of the quality of a restaurant. while that debate inevitably goes undecided, we always have a fun time.

this year is no different. we tried two different places and had two very different experiences. the first one, at tocqueville, was less than memorable. our company was excellent, but sadly, the food and service were mediocre at best. there was almost a one hour lag between the service of appetizer and dinner. and as a person who needs to be fed and watered every few hours that did not bode well. the best part of the meal for me was dessert, a really yummy steamed date cake. i could have done without my salad (boring) and cod (tiny portion with little taste). overall, based on that experience, there is no way i would go back.

contrast that experience with dinner last night at blue smoke. the company here was also excellent. but the food and service also lived up to that high standard. and in an unexpected turn of events, only one of us actually ordered off of the restaurant week menu. the prices at blue smoke are really affordable and the portions are quite big so the three courses were too much. that being said, we ordered WAY too much food for four people and are all still paying for it. we ordered:

drinks:

boys had beer (a porter from new york)

girls had cocktails - gin, prosecco and lemon juice. vodka, olive juice and texas pete hot sauce.

apps:

handmade bbq chips w/ bleu cheese

peel & eat shrimp

chipotle chicken wings

entrees:

2 rhapsody in ques (in other words, smorgasbord of meat)

1 ribs w/ baked beans

1 brisket platter with mashed potatoes


sides:

cornbread

mac n cheese

hush puppies

dessert:

brownie sundae w/ mint chocolate chip ice cream

our waiter didn't write any of that down. and our order came to us without a mistake. the food was quite good. the waiter told us that the mac n cheese was some of the best in the city and he didn't exaggerate. the meat was tender. the table raved over the hush puppies. i would skip the corn bread next time, it wasn't my favorite. if the corn bread is the only thing that disappoints though, i think blue smoke is doing really well.

we ended up getting home way past our bedtime we were having so much fun.

fast forward two hours. i spent half the night with some of the worst heartburn ever. couple that with s sweating and talking in his sleep and you are have to two very tired people this morning.

but it was so worth it.

over lunch

and in a one block radius, i managed to get my shoes fixed and shined, buy lunch, pick up a birthday card for my aunt, buy face wash and get cash. can't beat that.

on the flip side of extolling the conveniences of new york, this weekend s and i purchased a new television. and by television i mean monster sized flat screen LCD that is larger than the stand it sits on. oh and we live in a one bedroom apartment. but i digress. anyway, we braved the cold on Saturday and made our way to p.c. richards in union square. if you have never gone to union square on a saturday, don't. it's crowded, people are angry and often lost. the fact that the l train was out of service forcing people above ground to ride the bus didn't help matters much either. you know it was cold when i convinced s to take the bus because i couldn't feel my toes.

so we find our way to p.c. richards where a lovely man helps us (i.e. tries to sell us a wire for our television for $50 that we found online for $1.46) and we purchase our (s's) tv of choice - the 46 inch samsung lcd, blah blah blah. s is beaming with joy like a proud parent. we will take this tv home and watch the sweat on a basketball player's head gleam like we are right next to him. our friendly p.c. richard's salesman informs us that it will be an extra $120 for delivery. hm. i could rent a car for an hour in this city for $10 and he wants to charge me $120? the answer - a resounding no. so, we take it with us. into the freezing cold. on saturday. in union sqaure. at 5:30.

one might ask - how could you think that was a good idea? why would you think that a taxi (a van or SVU no less because this tv of the g-ds will not fit in the back of a mere mortal taxi) would just be magically waiting there for you to exit the store and easily load this ginormous tv into the back?

the answer - naivety. there really is no other possible answer. it took us a half hour to find a taxi to fit the tv and it was only because i practically accosted a poor young couple exiting a taxi across the street. i have never run so fast in my life. funny enough, the tv only fit when we put the seats down. so s had to ride home separately and i sat in the front seat of the cab while the driver grilled me about the details of this tv. that made me chuckle a little as we both agreed on a mutual disdain for best buy.

but the tv is home now. and it is large. and s is happy. and the steelers are in the super bowl so i GUESS it's ok.

so what's the point?

when i started writing i wasn't sure what direction i was going in. i was just kind of putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard as it may, based on whatever was going on that day. slowly though, i found myself only writing when i was down or something crap had happened to me. i have recently decided i don't like that approach. while there are certain times when it is important to acknowledge a bad day, i am making an effort to write about happy things. there is so much to appreciate every single day that is often ignored or forgotten. if i focus more on the good things that are going on, i believe more good things will follow.

good things in the last 24 hours:

(1) someone saved me a seat at lunch today.
(2) the E train wasn't that crowded this morning.
(3) my ipod battery has not died yet and it really should have by now.
(4) i had the opportunity to go to court yesterday.
(5) lunch was free today and it was breakfast for lunch, my favorite.

as a side note, at free lunch we had a rousing discussion about how i can't keep kiefer sutherland and kevin costner separate. i believe they are the same person. frankly, no one has convinced me otherwise.

2009

is gonna be a big year! the wedding plus exciting career prospects equals lots of changes and things to look forward to. i am excited. and a little scared. but mostly excited.